Jalan Alor

7/206 Bourke St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Another action-packed month for Ming, another guest post from Chris. I’m sure you know the drill by now!

Things don’t always go as planned. Take for instance our trip to Sambal Kampung- after having meant to visit for months, not only did we walk far past the restaurant on our first try, but when we made it back we found that it had closed down! Our dinner plans out the window, we needed to find another place to fulfil our Malaysian cravings, and thankfully Ming remembered the nearby Jalan Alor.

Being early for dinner as we usually are, there was plenty of space for us to sit down and work out what to order. The service was sufficient but nothing more as we got some hot tea to combat the outside’s winter chill.

Nasi Ayam Hainan ($11)

Ming ordered the Nasi Ayam Hainan ($11), one of her favourite Malaysian dishes. The rice, served in three small mounds, was enjoyably moist and flavoursome, while the (mostly) boneless chicken mixed to good effect with the sauce. The soup had the familiar hint of MSG, and was otherwise standard for an accompanying soup.

Penang Char Kway Teow ($12)

Penang Char Kway Teow ($12)

I went instead for the Penang Char Kway Teow ($12). This was a thoroughly satisfying interpretation of the dish, with enormous prawns, chewy noodles, and a faint kick of chilli. It stood out (if not by a large margin) from some other versions of this dish that I’ve had.

We left Jalan Alor quite happy, despite not having expected to visit on this night in particular. It won’t blow your socks off, but if you’re in the mood for some Malaysian in the CBD I’d happily point you in its direction.

Rating: 13/20